Art has never been so ancient and contemporary at the same time. “Neo-Cave Painting,” as its creator Andrea Benetti aptly calls it, brings primitive forms—bison, horses, and hunting scenes, like those found in Lascaux in France or Altamira in Spain—beyond the boundaries of time, making them pop.
This is the result of Benetti’s originality, for whom true avant-garde lies in the ability to look back. Painting thus returns to its origins, to the primal need to leave a mark on rock. Benetti creates a sort of conceptual short circuit by choosing to exhibit his work inside the Castellana Caves.
It is the perfect setting for canvases that draw heavily from Paleolithic and Neolithic iconography, which left powerful and evocative traces in Puglia, particularly in the Grotta dei Cervi in Porto Badisco, Salento. The Bologna-based artist, whose artistic manifesto was presented at the 2009 Venice Biennale, enhances these primitive inspirations with vivid oil colors, while antiquing the canvas using natural substances like henna, coffee, and cocoa.
The exhibition transforms the caves into an unusual contemporary art gallery, where different eras blend and blur. For tonight’s opening at 8 PM, the rock walls of the Grave cave will serve as a screen for the magnified projection of several of Benetti’s works, disorienting visitors and guiding them on a virtual journey through time.
Even the exhibition setup promises to be remarkable: the artworks will be arranged along a fenced-off path and illuminated in such a way that the light source remains unseen.
For the vernissage, the caves will also become a musical venue, hosting a concert by Frank Nemola, the current trumpeter for Vasco Rossi’s band.
Curated by Massimo Guastella, professor of Contemporary Art History at the University of Salento, Benetti’s exhibition is supported by the Grotte di Castellana organization, the Puglia Region, the Province of Bari, and the Municipality of Castellana Grotte, as well as by M.A.C.I.A. Museum (Costa Rica), the Pegaso European Institute, Art Offside, Viedimezzo, and the Andrea Benetti Archive.
The exhibition will be open until September 25, from 9 AM to 7 PM, with the option to visit the entire karst cave complex.